HOW COUSINS CAN GENERATE CONFUSION, TWICE REMOVED

ROB KYFFTHE HARTFORD COURANT

My fellow teachers and I were swapping anecdotes about cousins the other day -- OK, so we sometimes get desperate for lunch table conversation -- when the inevitable questions came up about the meanings of "first cousin" vs. "second cousin" and the always-perplexing term "once removed."

(The most interesting cousin story, by the way, came from a colleague whose second cousin was once removed for a period of 25 years to life.)

Any explanation of cousinly nomenclature is bound to be confusing, but here goes: The children of your uncle or aunt are your first cousins. The children of first cousins are second cousins to each other. And the children of second cousins are third cousins to each other.

Now for the tricky "removed" part. Here "removed" means "removed from your generation." So your first cousin's child, who is one generation removed from yours, is your "first cousin once removed"; your first cousin's grandchild is your first cousin twice removed; and your first cousin's great-grandchild ... well, let's hope you live to meet him.

Think you have it? What's the relationship of each of these relatives to you?

1) your mother's sister's son 2) the daughter of your mother's sister's son 3) the grandson of your father's uncle 4) the daughter of your second cousin 5) the granddaughter of your second cousin

6) the grandson of your uncle 7) the son of your mother's cousin 8) the grandson of your mother's cousin 9) the granddaughter of your mother's great aunt 10) the great-great granddaughter of your father's brother

Answers: 1) first cousin 2) first cousin once removed 3) second cousin 4) second cousin once removed 5) second cousin twice removed 6) first cousin once removed 7) second cousin 8) second cousin once removed 9) third cousin 10) first cousin thrice removed

This difficult quiz reminds me of an old riddle: A man points to another man and says: "Brothers and sisters I have none. This man's father is my father's son." To whom is the speaker pointing? Answer in Friday's column!

Rob Kyff is a teacher and writer in West Hartford. Write to him in care of The Courant, Features Department, 285 Broad St., Hartford, CT 06115, or by e-mail at WordGuy@aol.com.